Friday, September 9, 2011

RAW TOMATO SAUCE - A GUEST POST

I have only recently become acquainted with Muna's "MunatyCooking", but I must say that I enjoy her eclectic choice of dishes a lot as they cover a broad spectrum of foods. This lady hailing from the United Arab Emirates offers recipes that range from Western desserts and baked goods to Asian and Middle Eastern specialities. Although all of them look and sound particularly good, I am particularly enthralled by her pungent and savory dishes as I am a real sucker for the lipsmacking and exotic cuisine of those far away regions of the globe.

She edits a wonderful online magazine called "MunatyCooking" and is a talented cook/baker whom I have respect for as she is truly a foodie with undeniable qualities. So, when Muna asked me to write a guest post for her, the mere thought of it made me happy. No matter how big or small a blogger is, it is my pleasure to be welcomed into their homes as I believe that foodblogging is all about exchange, mutual respect, honest friendship and sharing (not always though, but that's what it should all be about).

My love for all things gastronomic has no borders nor does it care about your social status. I'm definitely not a snob who gives the cold shoulder to "newbies" (her site has been open since December 2010) as that is not an attitude I want to adopt or advocate. On the contrary, I despise elitists and cliquey people who look down on others, because they think that they are the shit/best.

Being quite humble in nature and remembering my quivery first steps as a beginner as well as how difficult it can be to get acknowledged during the early stages of blogging, I can only give my support to the ones who follow our tracks as I know too well how harsh, foreign/strange and vast this virtual world can be when you are a neophyte.

Many thanks, Muna, for oppening the doors to your lovely blog for me!

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I don't know if you have the same uncomfortable feeling as me, but I have the impression that this year is passing extremely speedily and that we are more than ever racing against time without being able to get a grip on the present moment or connect with the now. It is insane and quite confusing...

As incredible and shocking as it might seem, September has already arrived and so has autumn (and by the way, just in case you have already got the creeps, we are dangerously approaching Christmas - only 3 1/2 months to go before the ludicrous craze!). Even if you try lying to yourself, you cannot do anything else than witness that the hot season is over and that the slow decline of nature is taking its toll. As sad as it might sound, we have no other choice than to bid goodbye to the joys of summer and to the delightful and frivolous sensation of lightness it confers for cold, bleakness and gloom are installing themselves nonchalantly. All those changes are real, visible and can be perceived very clearly.

"Those cold nights are back again

Norway morning greet my daily toil

That old familiar smell

Fallen leaves return to our soil..."- Excerpt taken from the song "September In Norway" by Darkthrone.

The luminosity is progressively getting weaker as the days shorten and faint orange hues are starting to spread like wildfire, yet the light is crispier and clearer than it was a few weeks ago. Although it can still be warm and the temperatures are enjoyably balmy from sunrise-to-sunset, the air is nonetheless fresher during the night and in the morning.

The leaves on the trees are slowly turning, beginning to look a bit burnt and are losing their green pigmentation. Some of them have even scattered across the carpeted grass and are gracing the sides of the roads. Birds are quite silent lately, but one can already hear the mean yammering of magpies and crows in the distance. The mist gently licking the mountainsides and making them look eerily beautiful.The air has that familiar and distinctive clean, soily and firepit smell. Market stalls are once again being refurbished with wild mushrooms, pumpkins, sweetcorn, beetroots, grapes, figs, pears and apples.

Despite the fact all is very exciting, a part of me is sad......If you wish to read the rest of this post, see another set of pictures and discover the recipe for my "Raw Tomato Sauce", then please hop over to Muna's blog. Thank you!

Rosa, I love your writing and haunting descriptions and observations of life. But I also enjoy your dishes and exotic style. With respect to this bruschetta-like tomato salsa recipe by your guest, I wish an English translation was available because it looks...delicious.

Penning down.Sometimes wonder how thsi simple ideas skip our attention..Went browsing on your guests side.She is a true find,,,thank you for sharing;)Could not see how to follow her as I do not have Facebook and alike;)

I also try to encourage "newbie" bloggers, Rosa. I appreciate their hesitation in testing the waters and how so many of them evolve into sharing, caring bloggers. As a matter of fact, I'm trying to find out when Adopt a Blogger Month is:)

Such a great post, Rosa...the sauce looks so bright and fresh! I love your outlook on life and blogging, and I feel the same way about newbie bloggers...we all had to start somewhere, right? I feel like the more you share with us on your blog, the more I realize we have in common.

And just earlier today I was thinking about how soon Christmas will be here! Time has sure sped up, hasn't it?!

Wonderful! These tomatoes remind me of the mountain tomatoes we get in Lebanon all summer and yes it is incredible how fast the year has gone by! I love your photos and dish, perfect and inspiring in every way.

Rosa, these photos of the pasta and raw sauce dish are fabulous - I feel like you've made a styling change and I love them! And this is a wonderful, perfect sauce... now if I could only get back to Autumn...